Let me just get this out of the way — I don’t like pumpkin beer. I know, I know….

And trust me, I’ve tried. Pumking. Rumpkin. Punkin, etc.

I just…can’t.*

But what I can do is bake with it. Bread, to be exact. It’s pretty brilliant, actually. The carbonation helps make the bread airy and light, while the pumpkin flavor gives it an overall boost. I used Dogfish Head Punkin because I find it to be the best I’ve tried thus far, but use any ale you like.

Pumpkin Beer Bread

Recipe slightly adapted from Slate

What you need:

• Oil or butter for greasing the pan
• 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup Dogfish Head Punkin (or any pumpkin ale)

How you do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan — set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, including the spices.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the butter, pumpkin and brown sugar until well combined. Stir in the the eggs and the pumpkin beer.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until well combined. Add the batter to the prepared pan and bake for an hour, rotating the pan once during the baking process.
5. Remove pan from oven and let cool completely before slicing.

*Have a pumpkin beer that you really love? Recommend it in the comment box below (or send me a tweet). Who knows — you may be able to convert me.